Cîroc is a brand of alcoholic beverages produced in France since 2003 and distributed by the British-based multinational alcoholic beverage maker

Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...

. The brand family includes

vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...

, flavored products containing vodka, and

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

. Since 2007, the marketing and promotion for Cîroc in the United States has been handled by Sean Combs in an "equal-share venture" with profits from the brand being split between Combs and Diageo.

Etymology

The name "Cîroc" is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsGaillac region where Mauzac grapes are grown (the 'î' in the Cîroc logo is the i-circumflex letter used in the French language.)

Vodka production process

Cîroc's vodka is distinguished from nearly all other vodkas by being derived from grapes, rather than using

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es or

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

(corn). It is distilled to a very high level of

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

(ABV) concentration about 96% (roughly the practical limit of ordinary distillation practices due to the

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...

and water becoming an azeotrope mixture) and is not aged or flavored before being diluted with water to 40% ABV (80

U.S. proof Alcohol proof (usually termed simply "proof" in relation to a beverage) is a measure of the content of ethanol (alcohol) in an alcoholic beverage. The term was originally used in England and was equal to about 1.8 times the percentage of alcohol ...

) for bottling, and thus fulfills the criteria for labeling as vodka (which in the United States requires at least 95% distillation concentration and 40% ABV bottling concentration for vodka). The producer of Cîroc emphasizes its being distilled five times. The first four distillations use column stills and the final distillation is performed in a traditional copper

pot still A pot still is a type of distillation apparatus or still used to distill liquors such as whisky or brandy. In modern (post-1850s) practice, they are not used to produce rectified spirit, because they do not separate congeners from ethanol as eff ...

at the Distillerie de Chevanceaux.

Flavored products containing vodka

Since 2010, the Cîroc brand has included a family of flavored drinks containing vodka. In the United States, these flavored beverages are bottled at 70

(35% ABV) a lower ABV level than (unflavored) vodka, although much higher than that of a typical mixed drink. In the United States, the labels of these products say "made with vodka" rather than simply "vodka", although they are referred to as vodkas on the company website. The brand introduced two flavored varieties to the market in 2010: Red Berry and Coconut. In 2011, the company added a Peach flavor. In May 2013, Cîroc and Puff Daddy announced that a new flavor would be released called Cîroc Amaretto. On 15 July 2014, Combs announced via his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

page that Cîroc Pineapple would be the next flavor. In 2015, he announced a green apple flavor, in 2016

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...

was signed as another brand ambassador co-promoting a new mango flavor, and in 2017 Puff Daddy announced a French vanilla flavor to be produced in partnership with hip-hop artist

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

. As of October 2021, the U.S. brand offerings include seven main-line flavor varieties: Mango, Apple, Pineapple, Red Berry, Coconut, Peach, and French Vanilla, and four "limited edition" varieties: White Grape, Summer Citrus, Summer Watermelon, and Pomegranate. In April 2022 Ciroc introduce one more flavor as CÎROC PASSION.

Brandy

Cîroc VS Brandy, bottled at 80 U.S. proof (40% ABV), was added to the brand family in June 2018. It is a blend of aged French brandies, some of which is distilled in copper

s and aged in French oak. A review in ''

The Spirits Business ''The Spirits Business'' is a British magazine aimed at distillers, distillery proprietors and other spirits industry professionals that concentrates on the fine spirits end of the beverage industry. History and profile ''The Spirits Business' ...

'' said its taste profile has rich' notes of fresh fruit, vanilla and a hint of French oak". In brandy production, " VS" is an abbreviation for "very special" and typically refers to a blend in which the youngest brandy has been aged for at least two years in a cask.

Background

Cîroc was founded in France by

Jean-Sébastien Robicquet Jean-Sébastien Robicquet, was born on the 20th of September 1966 in Bègles, France. He is a french oenologist, entrepreneur, master-distiller and company director. He founded EuroWineGate in 2001 which became Maison Villevert in 2016. Spirits ...

, whose family is from the

wine-growing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

region of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. Robicquet, whose family has been in the wine and spirits business since the early 17th century, had studied winemaking in university before moving into spirits production. Having worked for French cognac-maker Hennessy for ten years, he was approached by the British-based

– which owns a 34% stake in Hennessy – to produce a vodka made from grapes as opposed to grain or potato common among most vodka. Jean-Sebastien Robicquet is recognized as a "Commander of Bordeaux" by the Great Council of Bordeaux for his accomplishments in the field of wine/liquor.

Marketing

Marketing campaign history

When the brand was launched in 2003, NFL football player

Earl Little Earl Jerome Little (born March 10, 1973) is a former American football player. He played professional football as a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine years from 1997 to 2005 with the New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Brow ...

was one of the first American brand ambassadors to promote the beverage in the U.S. market. It was introduced to nightclubs and venues throughout the United States and marketed especially in cities such as

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. In 2007, Jay-Z became a brand ambassador for the vodka brand, which had been struggling to sell 40,000 cases in its first few years on the market. In December 2007, the commercial for Cîroc had Sean Combs calling the drink the "official vodka of New Year's" after brand became official sponsor for Cîroc The New Year event. Describing his ambassadorship of the brand, Combs sometimes jokingly refers to himself as "Cîroc Obama". Combs's brand evangelism improved sales substantially; By 2014, the brand was selling more than two million cases per year. Following the success of the partnership, Combs and Diageo also co-purchased the

DeLeón Tequila DeLeón Tequila is a brand of the alcoholic beverage tequila. It is certified as 100% blue Weber agave tequila. DeLeón is produced in the town of Purísima del Rincón in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. The city name literally translates to ...

brand in December 2013. Combs's ownership of the liquor brands is managed through his company

Combs Enterprises Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

, which also includes AquaHydrate bottled water and various non-beverage businesses. The Colangelo brand development company was involved in the development of brand positioning. Brand Development agency

Haines McGregor Haines may refer to: *Haines (surname), ''includes partial list of people with the surname'' * Haines (character), a character in James Joyce's ''Ulysses'' Places Antarctica * Haines Glacier, Antarctica * Haines Mountains, mountain range in Antarc ...

are responsible for Global research, positioning and identity development for Cîroc. The work included the development of brand guidelines and growth driver tool-kits for all markets. On 14 December 2011, the company began airing a "

Luck Be a Lady "Luck Be a Lady" is a song written and composed by Frank Loesser in 1950 and first performed by Robert Alda. The song was featured in the musical ''Guys and Dolls''. The lyrics relate the point of view of a gambler, Sky Masterson, who hopes that ...

" advertising campaign for ultra premium vodka, directed by

Anthony Mandler Anthony Mandler (born April 18, 1973) is an American film director, music video director, television commercial director and photographer. As a music video director, his most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna. The two have worked on s ...

. The ads feature a group of elegantly dressed friends (Puff Daddy, Frank Vincent,

Eva Pigford Eva Marcille Sterling (née Pigford; born October 30, 1984) is an American actress, fashion model and television personality. She started her career by winning the third cycle of ''America's Next Top Model''. Early life Sterling was born in Los ...

Michael K. Williams Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pre ...

, Aaron Paul, Dania Ramirez, Chrissy Teigen, and Jesse Williams) enjoying a festive night on the town. Other artists such as

(added in 2016) and rapper

(starting in 2017) have also been involved in the brand's development and marketing. In 2020, Cîroc introduced a #CÎROCStands initiative, which encouraged voting in the

2020 United States elections The 2020 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Democratic presidential nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, defeated incumbent Republican president Donald Trump in the presidential election. Despite losing seats ...

and was expanded to promote Black-owned businesses and especially businesses owned by Black women. In Nigeria, Cîroc promoted fashion entrepreneur Ozinna Anumudu as its "newly unveiled member of the Cîroc circle" in September 2021.

Lack of sponsorship disclosure

The brand's marketing on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

has come under criticism for a lack of adequate disclosure of paid promotional activities. In 2017, the

U.S. Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ove ...

(FTC) sent a letter to Puff Daddy and 45 other celebrities to remind them of legal requirements to properly disclose their paid sponsorships, and in early 2018 the Truth in Advertising watchdog organization (abbreviated TINA) sent a letter of complaint to DJ Khaled and Diageo expressing concerns about Cîroc. Later in 2018, TINA sent a letter of complaint to the FTC, pointing out the actions of 50 influencers that it said were in violation of disclosure requirements involving their promotion of the Cîroc brand. These influencers included Puff Daddy, DJ Khaled, French Montana, Alessandra Ambrosio, Cassie, Bow Wow, and Ashanti. DJ Khaled later removed the problematic advertisements that he was involved with, which had included more than 300 promotions of Cîroc and other brands between June 2017 and March 2018. TINA also complained that the brand's promotion activities included material likely to reach audiences who are under the legal drinking age.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciroc French vodkas Diageo brands